Squeezebulb operated sports ball pump
OwnerRobert F. Lange, Charles W. Daveyinventors
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A flexible, highly portable pump is designed for volleyball players but has wider applications. Motive force is delivered from a squeezebulb having a check valve at each end and communicating downstream to a fitting which will accept a ball inflation needle. A deflation valve is located in the air passageway downstream from the squeezebulb outlet check valve. The pump is designed so that it can be stuffed into a back pocket or thrown in a sports bag, and is flexible enough to be bent in two or wadded up and stuffed anywhere. The squeezebulb and relief valve are adapted for one-handed operation, and an optional one-piece solid state pressure gauge can be integrated into the body of the pump.
Claims12
A lightweight, flexible-bodied one-handed pump designed for optimum portability for use in low-pressure applications in which a mechanical advantage is not required for manual inflation, comprising:
- (a) a flexible palm-sized squeezebulb defining an internal air chamber with an inlet and an outlet;
- (b) an inlet check valve mounted in said inlet to admit ambient air into said squeezebulb;
- (c) a needle adaptor having a pinhole outlet for use in inserting into a needle valve of a sports ball to deliver air thereto when said squeezebulb is squeezed;
- (d) a flexible extension tube connecting and communicating between said outlet and said needle adaptor such that said outlet and said extension tube together define a passageway downstream of the air chamber of said squeezebulb and upstream of said needle adaptor;
- (e) an outlet check valve defined in said passageway to obstruct backflow, whereby repeatedly squeezing and releasing said squeezebulb pumps consecutive bursts of air inhaled through said inlet to said needle adaptor;
- and
- (f) a relief valve the downstream of said outlet check valve operable to vent downstream pressure from a sports ball to the atmosphere for adjusting ball pressure after inflation, and for deflating same for storage between uses.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.